Josh Heupel updates health and status of Tennessee running back Cam Seldon
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel met with the media Monday morning to tie a bow on fall camp and kickoff the ‘mock’ game week period for the Vols with the season-opener less than two weeks away.
During the press conference, the coach was asked about the health of his running back room, specifically sophomore Cam Seldon.
“They’ve been really good. Peyton [Lewis] and Cam [Seldon] – different, because of the timing of their surgeries,” the coach said on Monday. “Both of them have been exposed to more things throughout the course of training camp. Both of these guys are full-go right now. D-Sampson [Dylan Sampson] is in a great spot – and Khalifa [Keith]. So, I’m really excited about that group.”
Heupel was then followed up with a question on if Seldon is cleared.
“Yeah, he’s been practicing with us.”
Seldon, the 6-foot-2, 222-pound sophomore, suffered a shoulder injury during spring practice in March. Lewis, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound freshman and former four-star prospect, underwent shoulder surgery after enrolling at Tennessee in January.
Sampson has been limited throughout training camp as well.
Seldon rushed 13 times for 55 yards in Tennessee’s 35-0 win over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day, backing up sophomore starter Dylan Sampson after Jaylen Wright opted out to begin preparing for the NFL Draft. Sampson last season rushed 106 times for 615 yards and seven touchdowns. Seldon appeared in all 13 games, rushing 25 times for 106 yards. Keith carried 11 times for 25 yards.
Lewis was a four-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class out of Salem High School in Salem, Va. He was ranked No. 64 overall in the On3 Ratings, ranked as the No. 4 running back in the country and the No. 2 prospect in the state of Virginia.
“I think when you settle down and look at Peyton,” first-year Tennessee running backs coach De’Rail Sims said this week, “you look at, number one, how big he is when he puts the shoulder pads on. He looks like a grown man.”
But with Lewis, it’s all about speed.
“You see the explosive characteristics that he has about him,” Sims continued. “He’s able to break tackles and continue to go … but then at the same time, when he’s able to get an open field, he’s the guy that taking the distance.”
Redshirt freshman DeSean Bishop has been carrying the load for the running backs through fall camp and is expected to play a role in the backfield early this season. Tennessee kicks off the year on Saturday, August 31 against Chattanooga at Neyland Stadium.
